The Hiroshima District Court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the operation of the No. 3 reactor at Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture.
In ruling on the suit filed by 337 people, including residents of Hiroshima Prefecture, near Ehime, presiding judge Kazumi Ohama said "It cannot be said that there is a specific danger that violates the lives of the plaintiffs."
The plaintiffs, who question the plant's safety, plan to appeal the ruling.
Regarding the Ikata plant, the Oita District Court dismissed a similar lawsuit in March last year, and the Matsuyama District Court is set to rule on another suit on March 18. Yet another suit is ongoing at the Iwakuni branch of the Yamaguchi District Court.
The main issues in the Hiroshima lawsuit were the assessment of earthquake and volcanic eruption risks and measures to deal with these risks.
The Hiroshima court noted that nuclear plants that meet the Nuclear Regulation Authority's new regulatory standards are considered to have a "socially acceptable degree of safety."
In the suit, the plaintiffs argued that a fault passing near the Ikata plant may be active, and questioned the plant's earthquake resistance. Shikoku Electric refuted this, asserting that safety is ensured because the plant was designed to withstand quakes based on the latest knowledge.
The Hiroshima High Court issued provisional rulings in December 2017 and January 2020 ordering the suspension of the Ikata plant's No. 3 reactor, but both were revoked on appeal.
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